


be enough.

by orphan_account



Category: Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow, Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton Musical - Fandom
Genre: Alexander Hamilton Being Alexander Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton Being an Asshole, Alexander Hamilton Has Anxiety, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hamilton References, Human Disaster Alexander Hamilton, Hurt Alexander Hamilton, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Modern Era, My First Hamilton Fic, Past Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-20 18:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18998494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Fourteen-year-old Alexander Hamilton is making his way in middle school. With the help of his highly obnoxious friends, (so says Aaron Burr), can he make it though love, heartache, and pain? Or will he once again lose it all?Maybe Eliza and Angelica are right, can it be enough? Will he ever be satisfied?





	1. alexander hamilton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alexander's childhood is what most kids could call a nightmare, but miraculously alex was able to keep going, which was his dying mother's wish that he now vowed to live up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is sort of a boring chapter, sorry 'bout that ;)  
> the next one will be longer and with more dialogue,  
> enjoy!

Alexander Hamilton has had a hard young life. He was born without a father to hold him when he was sick, or when he fell off his bike for the first time. But what he did have, was a mom. She was beautiful and strong, and her icy blue eyes filled with joy with every poem and story Alex told her. Every song she sang to him, he hummed along with every chore he had around the house. He went to a public school, but his mother knew he was drowning in it. Alex was simply too smart.

Soon, 

_she got sick._

Alex then fell into their twin bed that they shared as he coughed and clutched his stomach after days of fighting hunger and pain without his mother to provide for him. He turned around and looked into his mother's gray eyes, which were clouded with sickness. She reached out for him, her hand softly resting on his cheek. A tear dropped onto the bare mattress and she brushed it away. 

"Be strong, Alex. Never stop." His mother whispered as her hand went limp, her eyes dimming with a hollowness that now consumed Alex.

Alex never really talks about his mom. His friends assume that he has a mom, that he's an adopted orphan from the place downtown. What they don't know, is that he was put under guardianship with his cousin, who had just committed suicide this morning.

Alex says goodbye to his few friends, but he has forgotten what it was like to actually _have fun_. He makes his way home and shuffles along the New York streets, keeping his belongings close as possible for he knows that this part of town isn't the best. Alex looks out for the less fortunate though, giving his few dollars of lunch money to each of them equally, knowing his mother would do the same. Not a day goes by that he doesn't think of her, seeing her in the world around him, and some nights he can still hear her laugh ringing in his ears.

"James! I'm home." Alex says and it echoes through the small apartment, and he knows that something is wrong. His cousin is usually waiting by the door, greeting him with a new book from the store. "James?" Alex says hesitantly, pushing open the door to his bedroom that they share.

There, in his own bed, is James Hamilton, Jr., bleeding out and the same hollow look in his eyes that his mother had when she fell silent.

Alex numbly dials 911, ignoring the ringing in his ears that seems to be getting louder and louder. He tells the police what is happening and suddenly the grief consumes him. He drops the phone and collapses, curling up on the floor, crying so hard he can hardly breathe.

_My mother was taken a year ago, and now he is gone too._

\--

That day, he was questioned by police officers, sent to a group home for orphans, and drained of any emotion he thought he was ever capable of having. The ladies at the group home were extremely kind to him, and rumors started buzzing among the kids, but that didn't seem to bother him.

_"Be strong, Alex. Never stop."_

The words seem to echo in his mind every second of every day, which seemed that it was the only thing keeping him going throughout his days. Most of the time he spent at the library, reading anything he could get his hands on. He liked non-fiction the best, and law practices seemed to spark an interest. He was always outspoken, found the need to look out for the less fortunate, and he was great at arguing, (which his teachers and the group home ladies could attest to), and he knew right from wrong easily.

Alexander knew he was different, and he acted different too. He never really seemed to fit in with his old group of friends when that summer had passed and fall came, but he didn't seem to mind. He spent his time outside, often reading a book or studying. It wasn't until he changed schools the following first week of the second quarter, that he finally found his place.

\--

Uptown middle school prep was a pricey private school which was only for the smartest and richest of teens, but Alex was accepted under a scholarship with his academic excellence. When he first started, he immediately spotted out the smartest in the school.

_His name was Aaron Burr._

Alex approached Aaron later that day after school, and asked him about his studying techniques and all of the clubs he could join to soon be as smart as him. Aaron gave him some free advice, but they were soon interrupted by three boys Alex had never seen before. They all introduced themselves quite loudly and quickly accepted him into their party of three, making it a quartet of four.

Aaron stood on the side and watched, knowing the boys would soon get in trouble for being so loud and running their mouths. He was used to standing on the side lines, waiting for whatever was coming, it was how he kept out of trouble and (apparently) why all the ladies liked him. He was never quick to judge, always waiting, always watching for an opportunity to become something greater.

Alex went back to the group home that day, excited to tell one of the ladies on how his whole day went. He had met John Laurens, Hercules (Lee) Mulligan, and Marquis (Mark) de Lafayette. They were three outspoken boys that Alex had so easily fit in with, and he felt as if he were floating on cloud9. He told Maria, (one of the head ladies of the house, and Alex's favorite), about the boys he had met, and how the classes were amazing and this scholarship could really be great for him.

_Alexander couldn't wait for more._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so guys... young alexander in the 21st century deserves the world <33


	2. aaron burr, sir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alexander learns more about his friends in the busy Starbucks cafe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who knew modern day aaron burr would only drink iced coffee?

"Excuse me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?" Alex stumbles next to Aaron and blushes furiously.

Aaron looks him up and down. "That depends, who's asking?" He slows his walk and looks at the boy who shuffles next to him. "Also, keep calling me sir, it makes me feel important." Aaron suggests, and they laugh. _God, that laugh._

"I'm Alexander Hamilton, I have been looking for you, sir." Alex admits sheepishly, and Aaron smiles at this fluff, continuing to walk slowly down the New York street as he feels Alex's warm shoulder brush his.

"I'm getting nervous." He says with his eyebrows raised, a smirk lingering on his lips. Alex turns even more red.

"Sir, I heard the kids around here say you take accelerated studies?" Aaron says nothing, and Alex goes on. "I want to do what you are doing, I want to be ahead of the game just like you. So how do you do it, accelerating so quickly?"

Aaron is quiet in thought for a moment. "It was my parent's dying wish before they passed."

"You're an orphan, of course! I wish there was there was some way to prove that we're worth more than anyone bargained for." Alex said almost excitedly, but Aaron knew he had his sympathy for the both of them.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Aaron gestured to the busy Starbucks across the street and Alex nodded.

"That would be nice." Alex agrees and they walk in, side by side, and Alex feels giddy with hope for the future. It something he had needed lately, and Aaron had given it to him. They get their drinks, (Alex is a sucker for macchiatos, and surprisingly, Aaron won't drink any coffee beverage unless it has ice in it), and they sit down by a table in the corner of the room.

"Let me offer you some free advice," Aaron starts, leaning forward, "talk... _less_."

"Oh," Alex mumbles, another blush spreading across his cheeks. _Why do I blush so easily?_ , Alex wonders and Aaron goes on.

"Smile more." Aaron nudges Alex's foot under the table, making him jump and mask a small smile. "Don't let them know who you're against or what you're for." 

"You can't be serious." Alex says, shocked. He stands up for what he believes, no matter what anyone tells him. Why would someone as intelligent as Aaron tell him not to?

"You wanna get ahead?" Aaron says seriously, looking for the doubt in Alexander's eyes that never appears. Alex nods quickly, listening very closely. "Fools who run their mouths get to be the weirdos, the outcasts. I don't want that to happen to you." Aaron says softly, but suddenly they get interrupted.

"Yo! What time is it? Showtime!" The group of three boys he met yesterday come to them, and they are looking ecstatic with energy.

Aaron looks back at Alex and mouths, _like I said..._

"I'm John Laurens and the place to be." John winks at Alex and quickly spins around to his two other friends. "Two coffees and I'm working on three. And I will blah-chicka-blah this place till I leave." They get a few worried looks from customers and coffee drinkers around them, considering John just made finger guns while he was in a large public space.

"Oui, oui, mon ami, je m'appelle, Lafayette!" Alexander looks over at Aaron to see if he is surprised by Mark's French, but he seems unfazed by it, almost annoyed. "I came from afar just to say bonsoir. Who's the best, c'est moi!" Alex laughs a little and then turns his head to see Lee bust through the two.

"I am Hercules Mulligan! Up in it, lovin' it, yes I heard ya mother said come again." Lee smirks and the boys roll their eyes. "Ay, lock up ya daughters and horses, of course, no more sex, pour me another brew."

_Alex is pretty sure they all have ADHD._

"Well if it isn't the smart Aaron Burr, drop some knowledge!" John says, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"So I see that you're takin' a stand..." Aaron brushes off John's hand and gets comfortable in his seat. "You spit, Imma sit and we'll see where we land."

"Academic's immanent, what do you stall for?" John says.

"If you stand for nothing, Burr, what do you fall for?" Alexander says boldly and the boys and the people around them go silent. Aaron gives Alex a look of betrayal for a second but then masks it with looks away, throwing away his coffee a into a trash as he walks out the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed <3  
> (sorry its not longer :/)


End file.
